Navigant Research Blog

China Spurs EV Development

Christina Sookyung Jung — April 28, 2015

China has aggressively supported the production and purchase of electric vehicles (EVs) since 2010. The government’s goal to deploy 500,000 EVs by 2015 may seem unrealistic. Nonetheless, this target serves as a reflection of the government’s intention to combat pollution and save energy by means of EV deployment. Chinese automakers have struggled to improve the fuel efficiency of conventional vehicles. Between 2010 and 2014, fuel efficiency improved by 5.8% annually in Japan, 3.3% in Europe, and 1.8% in the United States—but only 1.1% in China. As such, the government’s support for EV deployment seems to be the preferred solution for China’s situation.

Incentives Spur the Market

Only around 70,000 EVs were on the road in China during 2014. This is still an almost 250% increase from the 2013 figure, and many experts forecast strong growth in the coming years. To further spur demand for EVs, the government has implemented various incentive programs applicable to approved EV models, which are locally produced. As of 2014, there was a ¥35,000 ($5,600) purchase subsidy for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and a ¥60,000 ($9,700) purchase subsidy for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). BYD’s Qin, one of the most popular EVs in China, retails from around ¥210,000, but with government subsidies, customers usually pay between ¥120,000 and ¥160,000 for the PHEV. Qin sold 11,200 units in the first 10 months of 2014.

In addition, the 10% purchase tax is waived for new energy autos, which include EVs, PHEVs, and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). The government plans to allocate around ¥4 billion for this tax initiative, which is in effect between September 1, 2014 and December 31, 2017. Because the tax break applies to imported EVs as well, foreign car makers have been eager to enter the Chinese market. In 2014, BMW’s i3 and i8 EVs, as well as the Daimler and BYD joint venture EV model Denza, were launched in China. On top of the central government’s efforts, incentive programs and EV targets exist in mega-cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Beijing plans to deploy 170,000 electric taxis and at least 4,500 electric buses by 2017.

Due to the strong government support, many Chinese automakers, such as SAIC Motor, Dongfeng Motor, FAW, and Changan, as well as automobile components companies, are nowadays interested in manufacturing EVs. In March 2014, Wanxiang, an auto parts manufacturer, acquired American EV maker Fisker. Also, Foxconn, an IT manufacturer, has partnered with Tesla to enter the EV market.

Opportunities and Challenges

Even though it’s difficult for foreign companies to enter the Chinese EV market, some—including General Motors (GM), Nissan, Hyundai, and Daimler—have jumped on the bandwagon via joint ventures with Chinese companies. However, two major variables are critical to China’s future EV market growth—charging infrastructure and battery technology. While charging equipment and infrastructure investment became open to the private sector recently to speed up development and construction, China lacks a national infrastructure standard. This can lead to operability issues from one city to another.

In addition, Chinese EV battery technology is in a transition from lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to manganese-series batteries. Most EV markets around the world use lithium manganese oxide (LMO) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NCM) batteries, which have better performance than LFP batteries. However, Chinese battery manufacturers currently lag behind their competitors in Japan, South Korea, and the United States in this area. Therefore, battery technology, as well as charging infrastructure standards and governance, will significantly influence the future of China’s EV market along with the sustainability of the current incentive programs and subsidies.